Frozen Mystery
by RougeJedi15
Summary: Disobeying orders, Delta squad, with Sev, are on their own. However, during an assault on an Imperial ship, they are mistaken for Imperial Commandos, which they become. After the assault on Hoth, Delta, now 5, are caught up in a mystery that may kill them
1. Outcasts

**This is an alternate Universe story, though the canon is the same. Delta Squad if they had disobeyed orders and saved Sev, making themselves outlaws.**

**Kashyyyk, Present**

"We've got to go back, Boss! Sev's in trouble!" Scorch pleaded, but I stood my ground.

"Scorch, Orders are orders." I said.

"But Boss! That's my brother back there!"

"Scorch..." Fixer's voice was warning, and Scorch sat back, his head lowered, silently sobbing. I pattied him roughly on the back, and said, "We're going back, Delta squad."

My voice cut through Scorch's grief, and Fixer's head shot up in shock. "38, our orders are..."

"I know the orders, Fixer, and I'm going back. You coming?" I asked harshly, staring at Fixer.

"Yes, Boss. I'm coming, I just don't think we should."

Scorch was looking more joyful by the second, and I said, "Delta, move out."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Destination, <em>One Month Later**

I lifted my arm, and motioned towards a final door. "Delta, Let's find out what through that door!"

Scorch instantly ran to the door, and knelt in front of it.

"Almost got it... You can't rush these things..."

"And _You're_ the Explosives expert?" Sev mocked in his deep, gravelly voice.

"Charge set." Scorch's voice had extreme satisfaction as he spun away from the door.

_Boom_

"Fire in the Hole!" Fixer's yell alerted them to the fact that he'd thrown a thermal detonator.

_BOOM_

"Offensive Formation!" I called, and the other three commandos of Delta Squad moved forwards.

_Clang, Clang, Clang_

Loud footsteps echoed through the halls of _the Destination_, an Imperial ship that we had been asked to sabotage.

After rescuing Sev on Kashyyyk, the four of us had gone to Mandalore, where many Clone desrters went, along wiith Jedi.

While there, we had been approached by the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, who'd gone to see if there were any survivors of the great Jedi purge.

We had no particular feeling about the purge, and weren't sure what to do about it.

So far, we'd stayed away from everyone, and since we were outcasts anyways, there was no sense in killing Jedi who could help us later.

He'd asked us to destroy an Imperial ship, the _Destination_, as it was carrying vital information about Mandalorian supply paths, which, if in the wrong hands, could lead to the destruction of everything on Mandalore.

I pointed down the corridor, shouting, "Delta, Imperials, up ahead!"

"On it, Sir." Fixer said, running to a pile of crates, and rolling into the shelter.

"Take up anti-armor position, 62!"

"Alright, Boss. Whooo!" The easily excitable explosives expert ran to a low crate, where he crouched, attached his anti-armor attachment to his DC-17m.

Imperial Stormtroopers ran down the halls, firing at the four Rouge Commandos.

_BOOM, BOOM_

Scorch's anti-armor went off, and the soldiers went flying all over the place.

"Move on, Delta." I said, moving towards the downed troopers.

"Aw, but I was having fun..."

Sev chuckled, and moved forwards, ducking through a small side passage.

Scorch followed him, and Fixer followed me onward along the main corridor.

I saw a flicker of movement around the corner, and I hurled a stun grenade up there.

Fixer and I ducked, and the brilliant flash alerted them that their enemy was stunned.

"Wait here." I said, then rushed forwards, and as I came around, a wrist vibroblade sliced past my head.

I punched, knocking the Imperial Commando backwards.

He staggered back, and I fired point-blank into the faceplate on his helmet.

He fell back with a grunt, and I motioned for Fixer to join me.

"Boss... Trou... O...whelmed... Need Help!" Scorch's panicked voice came through my helmet, punctuated by bursts of blaster fire, and I turned, running back the way we'd come.

"Fixer, move ahead, now!" I ordered, moving into a small droid maintenance tunnel.

I scrambled through, reaching a vent, and I could hear blaster fire coming from the other side of it.

I kicked it out, and leaped through it, landing in the midst of some Imperials.

My vibroblade sliced through one of their necks, and then I opened fire with my DC-17m Blaster Rifle.

They all fell, and I bent over the severely wounded Sev.

"Hold on, Soldier. I've got you." I said, administering bacta.

He grunted, and then climbed to his feet, and I immediately ordered him to get some more bacta.

"I'm heading there now." Sev said, then ran up, falling into position.

"Where's Scorch?" I asked, and Sev set off along a corridor.

I followed, and we burst into a small officer's lounge.

Fixer was trading fire with the Imperials from the shelter of the main doorway, and then he chucked a grenade.

Three Imperials went flying, and Sev and I opened fire on the remaining stormtroopers.

They fell, being attacked from two directions by highly trained Republic Commandos, professional killers.

"Fixer, help your wounded squad mate!" I ordered, and Fixer saluted, then ran over to Scorch.

He revived the explosives expert, and the two came over to me.

"All right, we've got to get back to our ship." I said, and the commandos headed off.

"Commando..." A whispering moan from one of the stormtroopers caught my attention, and I bent down.

"What is it, soldier?"

"They're waiting... It's a Trap!" He said, his eyes flashing open as the ship blew open in one area.

"Trooper, where's the armory?"

"Up near the bridge... Hurry!" He fell back, his head lolling to one side.

"Delta Squad, head to the bridge, Now!" I said into my com, and Scorch said, "Yes sir, Boss."

I ran off, headed towards the bridge, dodging dead Imperials and rebels alike.

Suddenly, the door slid open in front of me, revealing Train, a Commando who'd trained with me.

"Boss, come on. I've got a way out for you, and your squad."

"Thanks Train. They're in route to the bridge."

"Good job. I'll claim you were on the ship from before. Now, move!"

I followed him through a shortcut to the armory, and he tossed me a suit of Imperial Commando armor.

"Hurry, put it on. I'll go find your squad." Train said, and I nodded, trading my distinctive orange striped helmet for the dull, grey and black Imperial helmet.

I took off my old Republic armor, and slid on the new armor, quickly checking my weapons and other gear.

The other members of my squad ran in, and I ordered them to change.

They soon had changed, though Scorch muttered, "Come on, can't they spice these up a bit?"

"Like what?" Fixer asked, obviously appreciating the simplicity of their new armor.

"Paint, colored arm plates, originality." Scorch said, staring disdainfully at the armor.

The door blew in, as an explosion hit the bridge.

Scorch and Fixer quickly grabbed rebreathers, though since Sev and Train were farther away, and near the open door, they were quickly sucked out into the vacuum of space.

"!" Scorch's anguished voice echoed through the empty halls of the ship, and Sev, as he heard the voice, smiled slightly as his eyes closed forever. His last conscious thought was _at least we destroyed the ship..._

* * *

><p>"IC-1138, you and your squad have been on an unexplained leave of absence. You must report to Lord Vader, but I'm afraid that there will be extreme consequences." Admiral James DeGriz said, looking down at the three of us.<p>

We were sitting there with bowed heads, buried in our grief.

"You are dismissed." He said, and I stood, steeling my nerve and my legs, and saluted him, while my squad mates did the same behind me.

I sighed as I noticed that Scorch had only done a half-hearted salute, putting no effort into it.

"Delta 62, please report to Officer McFly, and tell him you're there for extra training." DeGriz said, and I looked down at the ground.

"DeGriz, I'm tired of listening to your rant, and I won't do any extra training. Understood?" Scorch had a dangerous look to him, but DeGriz didn't flinch.

"62, Don't. I'll forget this outburst happened, but you will never speak to me that way again, understood?"

Scorch nodded, still irritated, but stood down.

"Move on, Delta. Two corpses were found floating, and we're bringing them in for inspection. They look like Commandos." DeGriz watched our body language, and sighed as he saw Scorch's shoulders slump, though Fixer and I maintained our stoic stiffness.

"Dismissed, Delta Squad." This time, Fixer and I hauled Scorch out of there, and down to our quarters.

"Why Sev, Boss?" Scorch asked as soon as the door closed.

"I don't know, Scorch. It could have been any of us. Time and chance, that's all. But remember, Scorch, Sev will always be in our memory, and I hope we never forget him. Just, Scorch, stay here. Don't leave."

I could see it in his eyes.

Scorch needed out.

He needed to get away from the fighting, the killing, the rigors of Commando life.

Unfortunately, he, as were all of us, was born and raised as a Commando, and, like us, would die a commando.

It was our job, and as I saw it, someone had to do it, and if not us, who?


	2. Delta Rebuilt, Hoth

_"We're going back, Delta squad."_

_"Delta, Imperials, up ahead!"_

_"I've got a way out for you, and your squad."_

_"Why Sev, Boss?"_

_"I don't know, Scorch. It could have been any of us."_

* * *

><p>Years had passed since Sev had died.<p>

However, the two bodies the Empire had brought in were not those of Sev and Train, but of regular Imperial Commandos.

Scorch had never really gotten over it, but tried to keep his cheerful demeanor.

As the years passed, he was becoming more acclimated to the Imperial regimes.

Fixer was the same, unchanged, and still followed orders like some clanker.

"Scorch. More weapons training. Let's go." Fixer said, methodically checking his gun, to see if there were any repairs needed.

"Yeah, yeah. Same old story. Run, roll, shoot. Repeat a million times." Scorch muttered, and grabbed his DC-17m rifle.

"Scorch," Fixer said warningly, remembering when Scorch had openly rolled his eyes at the trainer with his helmet off.

"What?" Scorch asked, clueless to Fixer's worry.

"Just... Just remain calm." Fixer muttered, leaving.

Scorch sighed, saying, "Roll your eyes once, and you're marked for life."

Boss met Scorch as he exited, and said, "Ready?"

Scorch nodded shortly, and said, "Ready as I'll ever be, Boss."

The three commandos reached the firing range, but DeGriz, the Admiral, pulled them aside.

"Boss, you have been assigned two more Commandos, brinnging your squad up to five, instead of three." Boss nodded, and glanced over at the two new clones.

The first was their new sniper, IC-1245, Cal.

They had watched him training, and they had talked a few times, and were glad that they had a new sniper.

Cal was good, efficient, but, as Boss and Scorch agreed, he was no Sev.

The other was Spider, IC-1599, a new class of Commandos the Empire had made.

The new class were specifically designed for covert operations, more so than the ordinary Commando.

Using Mandalorian technology, the Covert Commandos were equipped with a stealth field generator, andsilenced DC-15s Blaster pistol, along with the normal weapons.

Spider, similar to his class, was taciturn, and sometimes seemed invisible, as he would sit back in a corner, and listen to the others, interrupting them to point out a flaw in the enemy's encampment, or in their plan.

"Train, get to know each other, and be ready. We're attacking the Rebel base on Hoth soon."

The five commandos saluted to Admiral DeGriz, and he nodded, striding away.

* * *

><p>The next month passed as a whirl of activity, constant training, becoming more familiar with their new squad mates.<p>

_Boss ducked behind a crumbled wall, readying a smoke grenade._

_He tossed it, and it exploded, giving him a glimpse of Spider, as the invisible Commando rolled away._

_Scorch jumped out, firing quickly, the stunning bolt hitting Fixer, who had just seen Boss, and was lining up._

_Boss fired, taking out Scorch, before he felt a presence behind him._

_He swung backwards, crashing into Cal, who was readying the stun baton they had been given in place of their knives._

_Call dropped, and Boss stunned him with his own weapon, before falling as Spider flickered into view behind him._

* * *

><p>The Imperial Ship <em>Terminator<em> fell into orbit around Hoth, following a score of Star Destroyers.

It's pilot, Alpha 11, or Kevin, broke off of the fleet, per Lord Vader's instructions, and dove for the surface.

_Terminator_ swept in for a landing, and the passengers disembarked.

Boss led off at point, with Scorch and Fixer guarded their sides, and Cal kept the back safe.

Spider disappeared into the snow, but Boss knew that the silent Commando would remain near.

Following them were Admiral DeGriz, Kevin, and seven other Clones, Niko, Reed, Vin, Tread, Will, Hyde, and Ed.

"Delta, we're the advance force for the rest. Our goal is to find a way into the base, as it appears to be underground." DeGriz said.

"Well, stuck in the cold until we find an entrance that may, or may not, be there. Oh wait, dreams really do come true." Scorch said, grinning.

"Do you ever shut up?" Cal groaned, and Scorch smirked back.

"Not when I'm awake."

"Cut the chatter, Delta-62." Fixer snapped, and then the group headed off.

Spider, meanwhile, had proceeded forward scanning for the opening.

He climbed over a low hill, and then saw a man glance around, then close a door set into the side on the adjacent hill.

He turned around, and saw a massive beast standing there.

He had heard of them, but had never seen a Wampa, especially not one that was two feet away, and coming closer.

He rolled away, and the Wampa continued on, allowing Spider to head back to the rest of Delta Squad.

Boss was scanning the frozen wasteland of Hoth, hoping to find the entrance fast.

Ever with the sealed armor, he was still getting cold.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like for DeGriz.

The Admiral was shivering, but was doing his best to continue searching.

Boss looked back ahead, then jumped back as Spider materialized right in front of him.

"I found the entrance."

"Delta, Form up. We're moving in." Boss said, and the group fell in behind him.

A minute later, the fourteen soldiers stood in front of the entrance.

Cal tried the door, and it swung open with a slight creak.

"Joy. Creaky hinges, and a dark tunnel. That's always good." Scorch muttered, and Niko chuckled.

"Come on." Boss said, and led the way into the tunnel.

"Close the door behind you, Admiral. There was a Wampa out there earlier." Spider called back, and DeGriz nodded, slamming the door shut.

The troop mover farther into the tunnel, the clones switching their helmets over to night vision, while DeGriz slid on a visor.

_"Admiral DeGriz. Have you infiltrated their base?"_ Vader's voice crackled over his comlink.

"Yes, Lord Vader. There have been a few Wampa sightings, but nothing else."

_"Good. I will be down shortly, along with the AT-ATs."_ The connection cut off, and DeGriz looked up.

"Let's move. Vader's on his way." The thirteen soldiers nodded, and moved forwards quickly, dropping behind cover.

_"Imperial Troops have entered the base! Imperial Troops have entered the base!"_ The voice over the com alerted the rebels to the invasion, and Cal smiled.

"Vader's here."

Rebel soldiers ran down the hall towards the far entrace, the one Delta and the others had entered from.

"Fire!" Boss called, and the seven rebels that had rounded the corner collapsed as blaster fire tore through them.

"Go, go, go!" Scorch said, and Boss was pleased to notice that Scorch was back to his normal self.

He seemed the most at ease during firefights, and other times when his attention was completely directed at something.

"Slice that door! Delta, we need cover fire. Scorch, set up a grenade position there. Spider, stay back, then slip through when it's safe. Try to even the fight."

The members of Delta squad fell into their positions, while the clones used and shelter they could, and DeGriz and Boss stood to one side of the door.

"Fire in the hole!"

_Boom. Boom._

The rebels, unprepared for the invasion from the back, stared in disbelief as Delta came through the door, followed by the troopers.

In the ensuing fight, a grenade thrown by Vin landed near some fuel barrels.

_BOOOOMMMM_

* * *

><p>In the following silence, Spider, Hyde, and Kevin, who'd avoided the explosion by being in the next room, reentered the room.<p>

"Boss! Admiral DeGriz!" Spider called, and Boss stepped out of the exterior chamber.

"The Admiral's fine. I pulled him out. Get to work reviving any of your surviving squadmates."

Hyde and Kevin bent over the fallen clones, while Spider revived Cal, and Boss got Scorch.

Soon everyone was back on their feet, except for Vin, who'd been killed by his own grenade.

The explosion had knocked in a wall, and Boss stared as he saw the stone tunnel.

Admiral DeGriz stared also, and the two leaders both stepped towards the tunnel.

As they entered, they noticed that it was clean, except for where their explosion had damaged it.

"Fixer, Scorch, Kevin, Hyde, Tread, come with me. Cal, Spider, the rest of you, go with the Admiral. Admiral, I say we check this out."

DeGriz nodded, and headed down the right side of the tunnel, while Boss went down the left.

* * *

><p>Boss' group headed down the left side of the tunnel, as Tread examined the walls.<p>

"Fascinating..." He muttered, running his fingers over the inscriptions.

He paused, trying to decipher the writing.

"The... Ice... should... Preserve... your... No, our... Secrets." He muttered, reading out loud.

He continued on, muttering under his breath, until he read one phrase that made him stop.

He reread it, making sure he'd translated it right, then turned, looking for Boss.

"Boss! Boss!"

The corridor was empty, and he reached for his neck.

His fingers found nothing, and he started fumbling with his helmet, trying to remove it.

"Having trouble?" He spun around.

Even as he turned, he gasped, and said, "You!"

He gasped again at a sharp pain in his chest, and dropped.

His attacker walked away, leaving Tread lying on the ground, dead.

"One down, twelve to go." The killer said, turning, and vanishing into a passageway in the wall.

**Alive - **Boss, Scorch, Fixer, Spider, Cal, Admiral DeGriz, Kevin, Hyde, Will, Niko, Reed, Ed

**Dead - **Vin, Tread


	3. Scattered In The Wind

DeGriz.

_Admiral_ James DeGriz.

It has a nice ring to it, and I should know.

I hear it all the time.

However, all it is is a title and a name.

Which mean absolutely nothing to Wampas.

I threw my self aside as the massive white beast swung a hairy paw at me.

It missed, but carved a large chunk out of the wall.

The beast let out a primal roar, and charged forwards, moving surprisingly fast for something as large as it was.

Behind a small Rebel barricade, Will, Reed, and Ed crouched, their E-11s spitting fire at the Wampa.

The barricade went flying one way, Ed another, and Will and Reed a third and fourth.

The Wampa spun, crushing Will into the floor as Ed hit the wall where he'd been thrown.

Reed maintained his fire, until a single sniper shot hit the monster in the neck.

With a strangled howl, it dropped back to the stone floor, dead.

"Got 'em." Cal's satisfied smirk was unmistakable in his voice.

Reed's voice, however, was colder than the stone beneath their feet. "Couldn't you have, I don't know, shot it _BEFORE_ it killed them?"

"No, I didn't have a clear shot." Cal sounded irritated, but Spider grabbed his shoulder.

"Next time, clear or not, shoot. We can't keep losing men." He said, and I nodded.

"Agreed. Spider, scout, Cal, rearguard. Reed, Niko, with me." The five of us moved out, continuing down the featureless hall until we reached a T.

Spider at the wall on the T, scanning the wall. It was covered with dust, and I blew shortly on it, causing a mild dust storm.

There were markings on the wall that I recognized as an ancient form of Galactic Basic.

I ran my gloved fingers lightly across them, wondering what their significance was.

"Admiral, Sir. Something you may want to see." I walked over to where Reed was, and peered closely. It was close to the right fork, and part of the dust was missing.

I quickly swiped the rest of the dust away from it, and saw a few words that had been carved fairly recently.

"Looks like a translation. 'Master's Chambers'." Cal said, leaning over our shoulders.

"Sir, I think there's another one over here. 'Training Room'." Spider was looking down the other, and I said, "Spider, Cal, check out the training room. You two, we're checking the Master's Chambers."

"Are you sure splitting up is the best idea?" Niko asked, "I mean, we don't even know where we are, or what this was."

"No, but we need to know, and so does Boss. Take too long, and we may not be able to warn them in time."

Niko quieted down, and I led them into the corridor leading to the Master's Chamber.

The door was lit by torches on either side, though all they revealed was the featureless metal door.

"Reed, figure out how to open the door." The Stormtrooper ran forwards, running his fingers across the smooth metal.

"No sign of how to open it, Admiral." Reed said, turning around.

"Figures. Never the easy way, is it?"

"There was the time on ….."

"Rhetorical question, Reed. I don't want an answer. Hey, Niko, you got any ideas?"

There was only silence.

"Niko? Niko, Report!" The last was into the comm.

Only silence at first, then Cal asked, "Is Niko missing?"

"So it appears." I groaned angrily, and said, "We're going back to find Boss and the others."

"We're headed your way now."

Reed and I reached the fork, and looked around for the commandos.

"Admiral, we're going to need some help!"

"Spider? What's going on?"

"The doors have been blocked by laser fields, and it appears that there are numerous battle droids that have it in their thick metal skulls that they can kill us."

"We're on our way." I turned down the training room fork, followed by Reed, then froze.

Niko was standing in front of the blocked entrance, his back to us.

"Niko!" I stepped forwards, and grabbed his shoulder.

The Stormtrooper collapsed, his helmet rolling away to reveal that his throat had been ripped open.

"Niko's dead, guys. We found his body, throat ripped open by a knife."

"Get out of here, Admiral. We can handle ourselves." Cal said, though from the abundance of blaster fire, and the frequent cursing, I doubted that.

"Go!"

I nodded shortly, and Reed and I turned back the way we came.

* * *

><p>Boss<p>

I led the way down the tunnel, glancing around at the odd inscriptions on the walls.

I couldn't understand any of them, but from what I'd heard from DeGriz, Tread could, or at least should be able to.

"Boss!" I turned back to Kevin.

"Yes, trooper?"

"Tread's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"As in, he's not with us."

"Fixer, Kevin, go see if you can find Tread, Scorch, Hyde, with me."

Fixer and Kevin disappeared back around the bend, and we moved on.

Without warning, the tunnel expanded into a massive room.

There were a number of small metal doors lining the walls, and I walked over to the nearest one.

When it opened, I stared.

There was a droid frozen in there.

I didn't recognize the type, but it seemed vaguely menacing, though why, while encased in ice, was something I couldn't figure out.

Hyde had opened another, to reveal an open hole.

The small icy patch that extended out from under the door explained the emptiness.

"They've already melted whoever they were storing in here." Scorch muttered as he walked by.

He grabbed a door, and started working it open. Unlike the others, this one was locked, and he was having to work at it.

Hyde was studying the empty one for any clue as to it's occupant, and I moved on to a fourth.

It swung open, revealing a young man, frozen solid in the block.

His features were obscured by the ice surrounding him, leaving his black hair as the only defining characteristic.

I pulled my pistol and fired a few times, the blaster shot melting the ice around where they hit.

Soon, I got close enough to him to start chipping away with my knife.

He fell forwards, and I grabbed him to stop him from crashing to the floor.

He suddenly jerked, and I lowered him to the ground.

"Guys..." I started, but was interrupted.

"Boss! Come here..." Scorch sounded very distracted, and when I reached his side, I realized why.

"What is it?" Hyde asked raising his eyebrow at the blood-splattered Katarn-Class Commando armor.

"Sev..."

* * *

><p>Fixer<p>

I returned to the intersection where we had entered the tunnels, and looked around.

So far, there had been no sign of Tread.

Kevin was kneeling down by one of the walls, and said, "Fix, I found something."

I turned, and snapped, "It's Fixer, TKR-729. Remember."

"Alright, alright, touchy much?"

"TKR-729, restrict your chatter to important messages."

"Sir, yes, sir." Kevin's voice lacked somewhat the respect it should have had, with more of a feeling of sarcasm.

I ignored it, deciding that the irreverent Stormtrooper was the least of my problems.

"What is it, soldier?"

"Tread's necklace."

"Necklace?" I asked, wondering why he would bring along such an unimportant object.

"His good luck charm. He believed that as long as he had it, nothing would happen to him."

"He was with us for a while after we left. He must have lost it during the explosion."

The necklace was only a string made out of some kind of hide, with a small carving of a skull hanging from it.

Kevin pocketed it, and I turned back along the passage.

"Let's go, 729. If we can't find TKR-912, we must report failure."

"Hold it right there, Imperial scum!"

I turned and saw a trio of republic soldiers flanking an officer.

"Lay down the weapons, and no one gets hurt." My attempt at negotiations failed, and I found eight other troopers facing me.

All heavily armed.

"Imperial, drop your arms. Now."

* * *

><p><strong>Alive: Boss, Scorch, <strong>**Hyde; ****Cal, Spider; Fixer, Kevin; DeGriz, Reed**

**Dead: Vin, Tread, Ed, Will**

**Unknown: Niko**


	4. Trimmed Down

_"Niko's dead!"_

_"Get out of here! We can handle ourselves!"_

_""""""_

_"What is it?"_

_"Sev..."_

_"""""""_

_"Imperial, drop your arms. Now."_

* * *

><p>Boss<p>

"How? He was killed on the _Destination._"

"Boss, we have a problem."

I pulled my eyes away from the frozen body of Sev, and answered the comm.

"What is it Fixer?"

"Rebel soldiers entered the tunnels and caught us. No sign of Tread, but we found his..."

A grunt from the other end caused me to jump slightly, then the comm cut out.

"Fixer? Fixer!"

There was no answer, and I turned back to Scorch and Hyde.

"We have a problem. Fixer and Kevin have been taken by Rebel soldiers, and Tread is officially Missing. Fixer said they found something of his, but he was cut off before he could finish."

"Let's go, then!" Hyde said, but Scorch refused.

"I'm getting Sev out of here. You guys go."

I nodded, and Hyde followed my as I charged back through the corridor leading to the ice box.

I stopped before the turn, and laid out the plan..

"Stay here, and provide cover fire. I'll get them out and come back, but If I go down, get Scorch."

He nodded, and took his position. I rolled out pressing myself against the wall.

I fired, and a soldier's head snapped back as the bolt took him in the center of the forehead.

"Take cover!" The rebel officer's voice rang out, and the remaining men dropped out of sight behind their barriers.

I fired a few more times, along with Hyde, then hurled a flashbang grenade.

I averted my eyes, and after the brilliant flash was over, I ran in.

There were a couple smart ones in the bunch, and had protected their eyes and ears against the blast.

Their fire was absorbed by my shields, and a few good shots eliminated them.

I vaulted over the low wall, and smashed my gun into the temple of the nearest man.

My knife dispatched a third, and a short burst of fire established my dominance.

The four remaining rebels surrendered, along with their captain.

"Where are you keeping the commando?"

"He's over there." The captain said sullenly, and I walked over, leaving Hyde to guard them.

Fixer was bleeding from a head wound, and his helmet was nowhere to be found.

I administered bacta to the injured commando, and he soon was staggering to his feet.

Kevin was also revived quickly, and we returned to where Hyde was guarding the prisoners.

Only there were no prisoners.

I knelt by Hyde, and saw that the Stormtrooper was dying.

"Boss... It was...wasn't them... It... it was..." The body dropped back, and I pulled the helmet off, testing for a pulse.

There was nothing, but with the way his throat was slit it was no wonder why.

"What did he mean, 'It wasn't them'?" Kevin asked, glancing over at me.

"The rebels weren't the ones who did this to him." Fixer said, looking down the hall.

"Then who did?" Kevin snapped.

He and Hyde had been raised together, joined the Empire at the same time, and had always been close.

"Look over there." Fixer said, pointing.

I looked, and saw one of the rebel soldiers sprawled on the ground.

Another was leaning up against the wall, and I jogged over.

I touched his shoulder, and he slumped over completely.

"Lightsaber..." Fixer said, staring at the circular, cauterized hole in both of their chests.

"The Skywalker boy, maybe?" Kevin said, his grip tightening on the blaster he held.

"Kill his own? No, this has Vader written all over it." I said.

"But the slit throat, the silence. Vader's not usually so... Discrete. He goes more for widespread havoc." Fixer pointed out.

"Does it matter? We have a angry, murderous Force user hunting us. We need to regroup." I said, holding up a hand to forestall Kevin's protest.

"It's too dangerous, Kev. Not worth it." His head dropped slightly, and I patted his shoulder.

"It'll be alright. We'll find whoever did this. I promise."

We turned, and I led the was back to the room full of frozen bodies.

I opened the door, and the young man stood there, holding a knife to Sev's throat. "Who are you? Where am I?"

* * *

><p>DeGriz<p>

Reed and I were heading quickly back the way we came, both of us alert and ready for anything.

"The others are no longer responding to my calls, James."

I turned back. "The Commandos?"

"Yes. I can't tell if it's jammed, or if they just aren't responding." Reed shrugged.

I glanced around as we reached the breach we'd entered through.

The rebel bodies strewn everywhere, as well as the body of Hyde, his throat slit, didn't bode well for our allies.

"Boss! Kevin!" Reed hollered, but there was no answer.

I noticed the lightsaber burns, and glanced quickly around, hoping that Vader was nowhere around.

Not that Skywalker was any better, but at least he wouldn't kill you for smiling at the wrong time. _Poor Wiheim..._

The metallic voice coming from behind me snapped me out of my reprieve.

"Commander Degriz. I see you have gotten sidetracked from the assault."

I turned, and scrambled to salute, as did Reed.

The massive metallic form of Darth Vader stood there, and I bowed.

"Lord Vader. We found the complex, and investigated to determine if the Rebels were utilizing it."

"They are not. Come along."

"But Lord Vader, the commando..."

Vader spun, slashing quickly and leaving Reed dead on the ground.

"Commander DeGriz, you _will_ come with me now!"

I blinked in shock, then felt him reach out with the Force, pushing in to crush my will.

I fought back, and Vader glared, raising the blade.

He swung hard and fast...

**Alive: Boss, Fixer, Scorch, Kevin, Vader, Frozen man**

**Dead: **Vin, Tread, Ed, Will, Niko, Hyde, Reed****

****Unknown: Spider, Cal, DeGriz, Sev****


End file.
